Nesting Instincts

This article highlights a winning Art + Habitat design by Atelier Anonymous in partnership with Mike Seymour, and which features in the Spring 2015 issue of Landscapes|Paysages, the Canadian Society for Landscape Architects’ journal.

For Barn Owls (Tyto alba), life can be precarious. Indeed, in many areas of the world, including British Columbia, they are threatened or rare, in large part due to habitat loss. But in Richmond, BC, when the new residential community of Jayden Mews infringed on nesting sites and perches of a familiar pair of owls, community planners determined to convince the resident owls to stay.

The Art + Habitat design competition called for ideas for a nest and a series of perches which would become a permanent home for barn owls and at the same time, serve as public art for the new community.